I suppose when you live long enough you get to an age where you reflect more on what is past and (slightly) less on what is ahead. When I heard the news about ConnectWise being acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo and CEO Arnie Bellini stepping down, it got me thinking about how far this industry has come, but also about how far yet we have to go and who will be around to take it there.

The first time I met Arnie was at the inaugural N-able users conference (N-able now owned by SolarWinds, another Thoma Bravo company). Arnie was behind the booth touting his new (at the time) MSP ticketing system, something he believed would be crucial for any growing MSP. He was certainly right about that.

Since that day, ConnectWise has been advancing the cause of managed services through the use of its software, by encouraging MSPs to focus as much on the business of running a MSP practice, as the technical aspects. ConnectWise has been instrumental in getting MSPs to become more process driven, and to document more of their work and service delivery processes.

Since those early days in the managed services profession, people like Arnie have been creating technology crucial to the ongoing success of the managed services market. One by one, these early pioneers have been transitioning themselves out of the market and onto new adventures. Such is life.

I congratulate Arnie on being a visionary in the profession and wish him the best of luck.